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Google has rolled out the first developer preview of its latest mobile operating system, the Android P. Available for Pixel devices, Android P brings with it several design tweaks over its successor along with security and performance improvements. Listed below are a few of the highlights in the new OS.

Design Overhaul

Google was rumored to bring about a massive overhaul with Android P in terms of design, and the developer preview has shown us signs of it. With Android P, the Quick Settings pull-down icons features a round shape with dark blue contrast when activated. The settings page also gets colored with new vivid icons.

Google has also redesigned several other features including volume slider, which now gets shifted to the right vertically instead of its horizontal layout. The Do Not Disturb option has gone minimal with just a single option available. The previous Android had made the space cluttered with individual controls for DND.

Notch Support

Much has been said about the support for notch in Android P, and Google has indeed designed the new OS keeping that in mind. As a result, the clock has now been shifted to the left, pairing it along with app notifications. The notch, if present, will distinguish this set from the other icons showing connectivity, battery etc., all of which will be displayed on the right side of the notch. Additionally, Android P will also let app detect the presence of a notch to fit into the screen accordingly.

Google Reply

The notifications in Android P will be more lively, thanks to the inclusion of Google Reply. To recall, Google Reply is the same AI engine that comes up with automatic reply suggestions in Google Mail and Allo apps. With its inclusion in Notifications, users will be directly able to use automatically generated replies without entering the app. In addition, Android P will also have support for media display in notifications.

Pixel Launcher

Changes have also been brought around to the Pixel Launcher. The dock in the home screen now gets more distinguished with shading that separates it from the rest. There’s also a small vibration now when pulling down notifications. This can be turned off from settings. New transition for app launch has also been introduced that pulls up apps horizontally when launched.

Indoor Navigation

Google has been working on offering indoor navigation for quite a time. The Wi-Fi based mapping feature will be made official with the Android P as indicated by the developer preview. Additional information is expected to get bundled along with indoor navigation like searches for products available when navigating inside shopping malls.

Additionally, Android P also features new additions like a rotation button to rotate the screen even when it’s turned off in settings, a text magnifying tool, multi camera API, auto-fill support for third-party apps etc. Additional features can be expected in the next developer preview, which will be launched in May as revealed by Google.